The National Weather Service, in the upgrade from a flood watch, warned of increased flooding in the area due to an already high lake level. Moderate to strong winds will stir high waves and lead to more erosion along the shoreline, the weather service said.
Members of the public in the warning area "should take immediate action to protect life and property," the weather service said.
Waves were crashing into shore on Lake Ontario Friday morning, but so far there hasn't been much flooding, Niagara County Emergency Management Director Jonathan F. Schultz said.
Schultz told The Buffalo News that the strong winds are producing the expected waves in Olcott and other locations along the lakeshore.
Schultz said he has dispatched another shipment of sandbags to Youngstown. "They're having some issues in the area of the Youngstown Yacht Club," he said, referring to a site on the Niagara River just south of its mouth into the lake. Sandbags were stacked in front of the Niagara Jet Adventures building next to the Yacht Club earlier in the week. Also in Youngstown, Fort Niagara reported a chunk of land near two 18th century structures collapsed into the lake this week.
Rain will continue douse the region on Friday, with another inch or inch and a half expected through tonight, said National Weather Service meteorologist David Church. The steadiest rain comes in the morning, turning into showers in the afternoon and tonight, as well as through Saturday.
The 6.38 inches of precipitation that fell in April made it the wettest April on record in Buffalo, and May has been pretty soggy so far. Through Thursday, 1.74 inches of rain have already fallen this month in the Buffalo area.
The weather service does not anticipate any significant inland flooding along creeks and streams in the coming days.
Niagara County announced late Thursday that access has been restricted to part of Krull Park, located on the lakeshore in Olcott, after a bank slide along the lake. Public Works Commissioner Garret A. Meal said a snow fence was erected to cordon off the crumbled land.
"What's happening there is what's happening all along the lake," Schultz said.
Access to a portion of another county park also was restricted Thursday. In Royalton Ravine Park, which is well inland, heavy rains led to the failure of a staircase on a hiking trail because of erosion, the county announced.
Back at the lakeshore, the International Joint Commission has made no changes to the outflow rates from the lake into the St. Lawrence River since midnight Thursday.
The IJC's Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence Board has been adjusting the outflows down the St. Lawrence frequently in the past month to try to balance flooding threats on the New York shoreline against those in the Montreal area, where there were evacuations of some homes this week. More rain and flooding is forecast in that region this weekend.
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